North Union leaving MOAC for Central Buckeye Conference next season

A charter member of the MOAC, North Union will leave the league for the Springfield area's Central Buckeye Conference.

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North Union quarterback Tim Gilliland runs the ball to avoid oncoming River Valley players during a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference game last season. This could be the final season in the MOAC for North Union.(Photo: Matthew Hatcher/ The Marion Star)Buy Photo

A member of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference since its inception in 1990, the Wildcats will move to the Springfield area's Central Buckeye Conference next school year in all sports but football, which will likely make the move in two seasons.

"It wasn’t just a quick decision. It’s been a decision for two years," North Union athletic director and head football coach Nick Hajjar said.

In reaction, the MOAC moved quickly to fill its spot, adding Shelby when the Wildcats leave. A charter member of the now defunct Northern Ohio League, the Whippets will play one year in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

With the changes in the MOAC over the last few years, North Union felt vulnerable as bigger schools with longer trips were becoming a reality. Marion Harding, Clear Fork and Ontario are the newest members of the league.

"When (former MOAC member) Jonathan Alder started looking around, I went on some trips with them to see the schools and see what those communities and that conference was about," Hajjar said of the CBC. "We had a committee with our transportation director, principals, community members, head coaches and we thought long and hard."

Hajjar is a graduate of Pleasant, so he acknowledges his roots in the MOAC run deep.

"Yes, there are natural rivalries that you love and you might miss, but at the end of the day you’ve got to think about what is best for our kids and our community," he said. "Going through all that information, we felt it was best to go."

The Wildcats will be the smallest school in the conference with 186 boys and 171 girls.

"They appreciate big and small, and we’re going to be on that smaller side," Hajjar said of the CBC. "It’s not easy. Ben Logan and Indian Lake were in the playoffs last year and Northwestern is getting bigger. Urbana has traditionally been really good. There are going to be challenges. We’ll have to cross over to the big side for two (football games), but they are new rivalries and new opportunities and we’re excited for it."

With many district residents working in Marysville at either Scotts or Honda, making trips to the southwest makes it easier than needing to go toward Mansfield, Hajjar said of an added bonus of the move.

"Our district touches Ben Logan and some people don’t realize that," Hajjar said. "We play Indian Lake in a lot of different things. We scrimmaged with Northwestern for the last eight or 10 years. We jamboree with Ben Logan. A lot of our wrestling tournaments are with Indian Lake or Ben Logan or Bellefontaine. It’s a natural fit."